About Fox Tales - a music industry podcast by Stereofox
Exploring the music industry one episode at a time. Welcome to Fox Tales - a music industry podcast by Stereofox. This will serve as documentation of our learnings as a curator and record label. Excited to share music, artist success stories, best practices when it comes to building your brand and grow as an independent musician and talk about the latest in music tech, digital marketing, and creativity.
Danny Hajjar on Running Sa’alouni El Nas, the Past, Present and Future of Arab Music and the Data vs Human Curation Balance at Spotify
Danny Hajjar is a music journalist, curator, DJ, and creator of the newsletter Sa’alouni El Nas. The newsletter focuses on the music, culture, social, and political stories of the Middle East, North Africa, and the diaspora community. Danny has a wealth of experience, having worked at Spotify's Data Curation team and contributed to esteemed publications such as The Washington Post, Esquire, and The New Arab.
His unwavering dedication and commitment to popularizing the rich culture of the region is commendable and inspiring to us. His rich overview of the music industry and dedication to be present and keep doing what he loves are among the reasons why we are more than honoured to welcome him to the Fox Tales.
The episode is published in the midst of the horrific earthquake that happened in Turkey and Syria. Our heart goes out to everyone affected. Below we are sharing a list of resources for people to donate and help.
List of resources for people to help and donate:
» Molham (https://molhamteam.com/en/wecan)
» Syrian American Medical Society (https://www.sams-usa.net/)
» AKUT (https://www.akut.org.tr/en)
» Turkish Red Crescent (https://www.kizilay.org.tr/Bagis/BagisYap/404/pazarcik-elbistan-depremi-bagisi)
Links
» Sa’alouni El Nas newsletter (https://saalounielnas.substack.com/)
» @DanielGHajjar (Twitter) (https://twitter.com/DanielGHajjar)
» Stereofox IG (@wearestereofox (https://www.instagram.com/wearestereofox/))
» our newsletter at Stereofox.com (https://www.stereofox.com/)
» host (@himynameisivo (https://www.instagram.com/himynameisivo/))
» Join our Discord Server (https://discord.gg/kJ99RfWD7s)
Mentioned:
@bladelsham (https://www.instagram.com/bladelsham/)
@frenchysaysrelax (https://www.instagram.com/frenchysaysrelax)
@dj.bonita (https://www.instagram.com/dj.bonita)
@narcynarce (https://www.instagram.com/narcynarce)
@big_hass (https://www.instagram.com/big_hass)
@offendum (https://www.instagram.com/offendum)
@thanksjoey (https://www.instagram.com/thanksjoey)
@abdulisms (https://www.instagram.com/abdulisms)
@norfafrica (https://www.instagram.com/norfafrica)
Podcast notes
[2:50] on music in Danny’s life growing up
[06:10] on his goal when it comes to popularising music from the Middle East and North African region
[07:20] on the creation of the Saaluni newsletter and how to stay consistent when it comes to content creation
[11:05] on the balance between music and social / political stories and how they humanize the culture
[13:30] on the future of the newsletter and turning it into a media platform
[16:50] on music that resonates with you
[19:30] on Danny’s career path toward, writing
[24:00] on being part of the creator’s ecosystem and connecting with artists from the Middle East and North African region
[27:10] key curators in the Arab Music / Middle Eastern scene
[29:30] the next growth wave of Arabic music
[33:35] Spotify, the Arab team there and what’s happening for artists from the region
[35:30] on everyone’s responsibility to explore and be open to global music
[40:00 ] the balance between data and human curation aka the human vibe check at Spotify
[42:30] an advice for artists
26 Jan 2023
US Beatmaker Xander. on New Album Bliss, The Importance of Collaboration & Working with Meek Mill
In our new episode we had the pleasure of talking to US producer xander. on the release day of his new album Bliss. We cover the creative process behind and and how it all came to be, his journey from picking up Fruity Loops to working with Meek Mill and building up his followership in recent years.
Shoutout to all the amazing people mentioned in the podcast!
Links
» xander. (@iamxandermusic (https://www.instagram.com/iamxandermusic/))
» artworks (@jim_spendlove (https://www.instagram.com/jim_spendlove/))
» Stereofox IG (@wearestereofox (https://www.instagram.com/wearestereofox/))
» subscribe to our newsletter at Stereofox.com (https://www.stereofox.com/)
» listen to our label releases (https://links.stereofox.com/label-releases)
» host (@himynameisivo (https://www.instagram.com/himynameisivo/))
» Join our Discord Server (https://discord.gg/kJ99RfWD7s)
Podcast notes
[1:26] Moving to Boston and the beat/culture scene there
[3:12] The Xander sound
[5:17] The new Bliss album creative process and release journey
[11:20] On playing instruments
[13:10] The importance of collaboration
[18:24] On meeting his collaborators
[24:32] Drumming and early days of producing music
[26:30] On getting triple gold certified and working with Meek Mill
[29:52] On the important of being consistent & building followership
[33:10] Pros and cons of social media
[35:50] What to look for in a record label
[37:45] Xander’s favourite place to listen to Bliss
5 Jan 2023
Stephan Kunze on Curating Zen Sounds, Deep Listening Habits, the German Lofi Hip Hop Scene and his Journey as a Journalist and Editor at Spotify
Stephan Kunze is a German music journalist and author, radio host, editor and curator with over 20 years of experience.
He currently curates Zen Sounds - a newsletter dedicated on ambient, jazz and experimental music. Stephan’s colourful experience - from print to radio and now digital streaming makes him really interesting and multi-layered guest.
Previously Stephan was Global Editorial Lead at Spotify, had his own imprint (Heart Working Class), consultant for Red Bull, editor-in-chief for the German hip hop magazine Juice, and writer for Berlin-based Spex (to name a few).
Links
» Zen Sounds newsletter (https://zensounds.substack.com/)
» Zen Sounds IG (@zen__sounds (https://www.instagram.com/zen__sounds/))
» Stereofox IG (@wearestereofox (https://www.instagram.com/wearestereofox/))
» subscribe for our newsletter at Stereofox.com (https://www.stereofox.com/)
» listen to our label releases (https://links.stereofox.com/label-releases)
» host (@himynameisivo (https://www.instagram.com/himynameisivo/))
» Join our Discord Server (https://discord.gg/kJ99RfWD7s)
Podcast notes
[01:50] intro, earliest music memories and buying records in the 90s
[06:10] degree in law and first writing experiences for SPEX and Juice
[09:10] music journalism in the 2000s and interviewing Pharrell Williams and working at Juice
[14:50] curating a newsletter (Zen Sounds) vs running a magazine or curating editorial playlists at Spotify
[19:00] switching Zen Sounds to English
[22:15] staying consistent and motivated when it comes to creating content
[23:40] Living in Berlin, the Pandemic, and staying balanced
[29:10] the Deep Listening philosophy and impact on life
[33:10] building listening habits as a listener and Spotify playlist editor
[36:50] today’s consumption of music and art and the future of the attention economy in mainstream media
[38:45] how to build a career and audience as an artist and be successful on Spotify and the state of lofi music
[42:30] singles vs albums when it comes to lofi hip hop
[45:20] the story and growth of the German hip hop beat scene
[49:40] Stephan path’s in Spotify and the evolution / creation of editorial playlists
[52:10] the culture of lofi hip hop
[54:45] are music publications still relevant, social media and does audience size matters
[1:06:20] 2022 end-of-year lists, the Zen Sounds newsletter, and future plans
Contact Fox Tales - a music industry podcast by Stereofox
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Fox Tales - a music industry podcast by Stereofox?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
